Nicolas Martin

There’s more than just a skillful artist behind the paintings of Nicolas Martin. It’s clear to the viewer after the first glance at any of his pieces, as each one of them portrays a sort of a philosophical nuance and an aura that cannot be shaken off. Simple and mundane in narrative, each of his paintings displays scenes that you wouldn’t ordinarily pay attention to in your daily routine: a corner of a building at night, trucks parked next to the road, a stairway exit… However, Martin’s technique and the way he plays with the light give the simplicity of the scene an unexpected complexity, permeating it with a mysterious, eerie feeling that binds both vision and thought. The way he applies the paint makes the inanimate objects seem as though they might move at any given time, and though the setting is often deprived of a subject, there never is a lack of presence in his work.

In order to create and portray a reality so recognizable, yet thus far unseen, Nicolas Martin uses more than his uncanny perspective and understanding of the surrounding space. Undoubtedly, his perception must be on a level different than yours or mine, for the otherwise familiar scenes that he depicts provoke attention and interest that isn’t usually felt; but in order to get it across on the canvas, the 1980 French-born artist honed his artistic skills in the influential Auguste Renoir School in Paris, as well as attending the graphic design program in Canada, at the University Laval.